Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

ruined

Heavy rains cause wall and arch collapse in Pompeii

Deterioration in state of ancient Roman site described as “dramatic”.

image

A collapsed wall from the Porta Nocera doorway in Pompeii yesterday. Image: Salvatore La Porta/AP/PA Images.

THE TEMPLE OF Venus and walls of a tomb and shop in the long-neglected ruins of Pompeii near Naples have been damaged, possibly due to heavy rain, officials said today.

Custodians found that a two-metre wall of an ancient shop in the ruined city – which had recently been restored – had collapsed under the weight of another wall that crumbled onto it.

It followed the discovery yesterday that parts of an archway in the temple had fallen off and a wall in the necropolis – the biggest in the ancient Roman city – had tumbled down.

The areas affected have been closed the public.

Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini has called a meeting this week to assess the damage and progress made in an EU-backed project to restore the archaeological site.

“The news of these collapses comes at a time in which there is an unprecedented vacuum in the management of Pompeii,” said Antonio Irlando from the Cultural Heritage Observatory, a non-governmental group that follows work on Pompeii.

“For every collapse that is reported, there are another nine that do not make news,” he said, calling the state of the ancient site “dramatic”.

image

The Temple of Venus, already being held up by some scaffolding, suffered damage too. Image: Salvatore La Porta/AP/PA Images.

Conservation workers last year began a €105 million makeover of the UNESCO World Heritage landmark, funded by the European Union to the tune of €41.8 million.

Officials last month reported the completion of the first project under the plan – the restoration of the frescoed House of the Cryptoporticus – but the project has been badly delayed by bureaucracy.

The project is seen as crucial to the survival of Pompeii after a series of collapses at the 44-hectare site in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius – the volcano that destroyed the city in 79 AD.

Photos: Exhibition examines daily lives destroyed by Vesuvius>
Work (finally) begins on Pompeii’s €105 million makeover>

Your Voice
Readers Comments
25
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.